The 26th Annual Critics Choice Awards are going to be broadcasted tonight, so we thought we would share our predictions and personal picks. While the Critics Choice voting body don’t completely line up with the tastes of the Academy, they are an accurate precursor in terms of predicting what films will earn nominations, especially in the below-the-line categories. Without further ado, lets get into our predictions for tonight’s 26th Annual Critics Choice Awards:
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS:
2020 was a year that offered very little in terms of big budget blockbusters, which are typically the kind of films that populate the Best Visual Effects category. Christopher Nolan’s Tenet was a disappointment from both a commercial and quality standpoint, but it’s easily the most widely recognized technical achievement of the year, so it wouldn’t be surprising if it steamrolled through awards season. Some people are speculating that George Clooney’s space drama The Midnight Sky could prove a challenge for Tenet, but I think the critics are less likely to go for that. I would personally love to see The Invisible Man pull an upset, as that film’s use of visual effects is very unique and it made the most of its limited budget, but considering it wasn’t even shortlisted at the Oscars, its win is doubtful.
WILL WIN: Tenet
COULD WIN: The Midnight Sky
SHOULD WIN: The Invisible Man
Winner: Tenet
BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN:
Mank‘s recreation of 1940s Hollywood perfectly falls in line with the kind of production design that awards bodies typically go for. Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom is the clear frontrunner for Best Costume Design and those two categories are sometimes tightly tied together, but in this case I think Mank is a much more impressive achievement in production design and it would give the Critics Choice voting body a chance to make sure the film doesn’t go home empty handed.
WILL WIN: Mank
COULD WIN: Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
SHOULD WIN: Mank
Winner: Mank
BEST SONG
Typically the Critics Choice Awards are a much more accurate in predicting the Best Original Song category at the Oscars than the Golden Globes are. However, in this case I have a feeling the Critics Choice voting body and the Academy will not align. The competition is far from stiff, so the Academy have a chance to finally give Diane Warren her long awaited Oscar for Io Si and I highly doubt they will pass up that opportunity. The Critics Choice on the other hand do not feel obligated to award Warren and will probably go for Speak Now, which is a more beloved song and has more significance in its respective film.
WILL WIN: Speak Now – One Night In Miami
COULD WIN: Io Si – The Life Ahead
SHOULD WIN: Speak Now – One Night In Miami
Winner: Speak Now – One Night In Miami
BEST SCORE
I’ve said it before and I will say it again, Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross and Jon Batiste’s work on Soul is so undeniably incredible, that it will likely win all the awards it is up for this season. The music plays a major role in the film and acts as a motif, and the way Reznor and Ross’s ambient electronic score is placed throughout the film alongside Batiste’s jazz score, is near revolutionary. Some are speculating Tenet or Minari could pull a surprise upset, as both score’s are doing very well in terms of streaming numbers on Spotify and Apple Music, I don’t think there’s enough of a narrative there to dethrone Soul.
WILL WIN: Soul
SHOULD WIN: Soul
Winner: Soul
BEST HAIR & MAKEUP
Voting bodies often go for the films that use makeup and hairstyling to perform a physical transformation on an actor. Out of the nominated films, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom fits that criteria the most. The makeup on Viola Davis in particular is impressive and it certainly warrants all the awards it will inevitably win. Hillbilly Elegy also has very flashy makeup/hairstyling, but it looks ridiculous and the film is not exactly well received critically, so it is hard to imagine that it would pull an upset at the Critics Choice Awards of all places.
WILL WIN: Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
COULD WIN: Hillbilly Elegy
SHOULD WIN: Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
Winner: Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
BEST EDITING
Similar to my argument regarding Mank in Best Production Design, I have a hunch that the Critics Choice voting body will shut out The Trial of the Chicago 7 in the major categories (outside of Ensemble), so they will want to give it at least one below-the-line award. The Academy and even the Critics Choice voting body often give Best Editing to the film with the “most editing”, and this year The Trial of the Chicago 7 certainly fits that criteria. It’s a flashy film and it is admittedly well edited, but I am crossing my fingers that the award goes to Mank or particularly The Father, as both films have a more unique use of editing that I personally find much more impressive. I find it unlikely that the Academy would go for anything other than The Trial of the Chicago 7, but I won’t entirely count out a possibility in which Mank wins here, as many critics are big fans of David Fincher and will recognize the technical elements of that film. However, I would love if The Father won, as it uses editing to disorient audiences in a very creative and non-flashy fashion.
WILL WIN: The Trial of the Chicago 7
COULD WIN: Mank
SHOULD WIN: The Father
Winner: Sound of Metal & The Trial of the Chicago 7
BEST COSTUME DESIGN
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom has very flashy costume design that checks many boxes in terms of what voters are looking for in this category, so it’s unsurprising that many prognosticators are referring to it as a lock in this category. However, I wouldn’t entirely count out Emma. While the film isn’t nearly as big of a awards contender in other categories, its slightly comedic victorian-era costume design is really impressive and also happens to check off a lot of the same boxes. Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom will probably win, but I for one wouldn’t be entirely surprised if Emma pulled an upset.
WILL WIN: Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
COULD WIN: Emma
SHOULD WIN: Emma
Winner: Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
The narrative for this category all season has been Mank vs Nomadland (AKA black and white vs natural light cinematography). This happens to be one of the most interesting two-way races this award season, and the Critics Choice Awards will likely establish one of them as the frontrunner. I’m banking on Nomadland, as it is the frontrunner for the top prize and it’s far more beautiful to look at in my personal opinion, but critics love their B&W cinematography, so don’t count out Mank
WILL WIN: Nomadland
COULD WIN: Mank
SHOULD WIN: Nomadland
Winner: Nomadland
BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
Just like at the Golden Globes, Minari also happens to be eligible here and will inevitably win, as it is the only film competing for the top prize. Unfortunately, while it totally deserves to win, this means we once again will not have an established frontrunner for this race at the Oscars. However, Another Round is very critically well received and is the only other film to frequently make top 10 of year lists, so if Minari wasn’t here, then that would probably win this award.
WILL WIN: Minari
COULD WIN: Another Round
SHOULD WIN: Minari
Winner: Minari
BEST COMEDY FILM
Borat Subsequent Moviefilm won the Golden Globe for Best Comedy/Musical and is somewhat of a pop culture phenomenon, so predicting that to win is definitely the safe choice. However, Palm Springs is arguably more critically well respected, so it’s very possible that the voting body could go for that instead. If I had it my way, I would give the award to the criminally under-appreciated The King of Staten Island.
WILL WIN: Borat Subsequent Moviefilm
COULD WIN: Palm Springs
SHOULD WIN: The King of Staten Island
Winner: Palm Springs
BEST YOUNG ACTOR OR ACTRESS
Helena Zengel is the only nominee in this category who has a legitimate shot at earning an Oscar nomination, so predicting her is a no-brainer. That being said, don’t entirely count out Alan Kim, who’s performance in Minari is beloved by critics and audiences alike and A24 has been campaigning him very hard in this category. If I’m looking at this category objectively and determining who delivered the strongest performance, I would give the award to Talia Ryder who has a very emotionally challenging role in Never Rarely Sometimes Always, although in some ways it doesn’t feel fair as she is much older than the other nominees.
WILL WIN: Helena Zengel – News of the World
COULD WIN: Alan Kim – Minari
SHOULD WIN: Talia Ryder – Never Rarely Sometimes Always
Winner: Alan Kim
BEST FILM ENSEMBLE
The SAGs and the Critics Choice Awards rarely line-up when it comes to this category, so I took that into consideration while making my predictions. I strongly believe Minari will win SAG ensemble, surprising everyone and cementing it as a possible Best Picture upset at the Oscars. However, the Critics Choice often go with the film many are predicting to win at the SAGs, so with that logic, I will lock in The Trial of the Chicago 7 as my personal prediction.
WILL WIN: The Trial of the Chicago 7
COULD WIN: Minari
SHOULD WIN: Minari
Winner: The Trial of the Chicago 7
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Nomadland is the clear frontrunner to win the top prize and Best Director, so I’d imagine they would honour Chloé Zhao’s deeply authentic screenplay as well. Although, if they wanted to spread the wealth and make up for snubbing Kemp Power’s other screenplay, Soul, in the Best Original Screenplay category, they could give the award to One Night In Miami.
WILL WIN: Nomadland
COULD WIN: One Night In Miami
SHOULD WIN: Nomadland
Winner: Nomadland
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
While the Golden Globes gave their screenplay award to The Trial of the Chicago 7, I have a feeling that the Critics Choice are going to go for Promising Young Woman instead, which in my opinion is far more deserving. I wouldn’t entirely count out The Trial of the Chicago 7 as Sorkin is widely beloved, but critics have been raving about Promising Young Woman and its screenplay in particular is considerably more innovative.
WILL WIN: Promising Young Woman
COULD WIN: The Trial of the Chicago 7
SHOULD WIN: Promising Young Woman
Winner: Promising Young Woman
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
After his iconic win at the Golden Globes, Daniel Kaluuya has cemented himself as the clear frontrunner for Best Supporting Actor this year and will likely steamroll through awards season. His performance is so ferocious and he acts circles around everyone in this category, that it would be hard to imagine that the critics of all people would not rally behind him. If Kaluuya wasn’t here, I’d imagine critics in particular would be drawn to Paul Raci’s brilliantly subtle performance in Sound of Metal , over Leslie Odom Jr’s performance as Sam Cooke in One Night In Miami and Sasha Baron Cohen in The Trial of the Chicago 7.
WILL WIN: Daniel Kaluuya – Judas & the Black Messiah
COULD WIN: Paul Raci – Sound of Metal
SHOULD WIN: Daniel Kaluuya – Judas & the Black Messiah
Winner: Daniel Kaluuya
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Best Supporting Actress is by far the trickiest race to predict this year, as no one is a lock for a nomination and in turn there is obviously no frontrunner. I was looking to the Golden Globes to give us an indication as to who may win the Oscar, but they decided to go with Jodie Foster in The Mauritanian, who did not even receive a nomination here or at the SAGs. Olivia Coleman’s campaign was completely riding on the strength of The Father, which wasn’t even able to get a Best Film nomination here. Glenn Close is a very well respected actress, who still has yet to win an Oscar, but her performance in Hillbilly Elegy is not one that many critics will be inclined to vote for. I believe this is a three horse race between Youn, Seyfried and Bakalova. The Critics Choice Awards almost always have a tie in at least one category, so I’m predicting that Youn Yuh-Jung and Maria Bakalova will both win here, as those two seem to be the most critically beloved supporting actress performances of the year. That will also cement Youn in a position where she can establish herself as the Oscars frontrunner. However, Amanda Seyfried’s performance is also very well respected and if she wins here, I think that indicates she has a chance to go on and win the Oscar.
category and
WILL WIN: Youn Yuh-Jung – Minari AND Maria Bakalova – Borat Subsequent Moviefilm
COULD WIN: Amanda Seyfried – Mank
SHOULD WIN: Amanda Seyfried – Mank
Winner: Maria Bakalova
BEST ACTOR
There is no doubt in my mind that Chadwick Boseman will win every single major award for his performance in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom this year, and deservingly so. However, if Chadwick wasn’t here, Riz Ahmed would have a legitimate shot at winning, as he delivers the type of performance that directly appeals to critics.
WILL WIN: Chadwick Boseman – Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
COULD WIN: Riz Ahmed – Sound of Metal
SHOULD WIN: Riz Ahmed – Sound of Metal
Winner: Chadwick Boseman
BEST ACTRESS
The Best Actress race is almost as much of a toss up as the Best Supporting Actress race. Many were confident that Carey Mulligan would establish herself as the Oscar frontrunner at the Golden Globes, but they went for Andra Day instead, who was not nominated at the SAGs and is in a critically panned film. I believe Carey Mulligan has a strong chance at winning here, which will earn her frontrunner status. However, many feel as if Frances McDormand will pull an upset, as she has won many awards at the critics circles and is the heart and soul of the most acclaimed film of the year. I personally would love to see her win, but I think this is Carey Mulligan’s award to lose.
WILL WIN: Carey Mulligan – Promising Young Woman
COULD WIN: Frances McDormand – Nomadland
SHOULD WIN: Frances McDormand – Nomadland
Winner: Carey Mulligan
BEST DIRECTOR
Chloé Zhao has swept this category this season in a way that very few directors have. She has won almost every single Best Director award this year and she will inevitably win this one as well, which is obviously very well deserved. If Zhao wasn’t here, I think Emerald Fennell would have a strong chance at taking it for her bold and challenging debut.
WILL WIN: Chloé Zhao – Nomadland
COULD WIN: Emerald Fennell – Promising Young Woman
SHOULD WIN: Chloé Zhao – Nomadland
Winner: Chloé Zhao
BEST PICTURE
Nomadland is obviously the frontrunner, as it is the most acclaimed film of the year and it won Best Picture (Drama) at the Globes, indicating it has very strong support all around. However, don’t count out Minari. Last year, many were expecting Parasite to win at the Critics Choice Awards, but they gave the top prize to Once Upon a Time in Hollywood instead. If they wanted to stir up the race, they could award Minari, which is very critically beloved and will likely win at the SAGs.
WILL WIN: Nomadland
COULD WIN: Minari
SHOULD WIN: Nomadland
Winner: Nomadland
Follow my blog on Instagram @moviereviews100!
Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter or Instagram or like us on Facebook.
